Hunting A Hunter
by sword0dancer
Summary: Cass was renowned for being a ruthless bounty hunter. On the trail of her newest bounty what will she do when she catches the eye of a predator more dangerous than she is? Human/Yautja pairing. Intimacy may follow in future chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**Notes: ** This is my first time posting a story here, I wrote Hunting a Hunter about 1 year and a half ago and it fell to the wayside for a really long time. Anyway, feedback is always welcome. I am working on future chapters and I'd love to hear from you guys if there is a direction you think I should take this or if there are any corrections I need to make.

Thanks and Enjoy!

** Chapter 1**

Cass entered the dimly lit pub intent on one thing and one thing alone; finding out where the fuck Ronald Carson was hiding. As a freelance bounty hunter she'd caught her fair share of criminals; some so evil she had felt it was her moral obligation to send them head first into the depths of hell, but he definitely cut the cake.

Charged with first degree murder in the brutalization and deaths of half a dozen teenage girls in Quebec he had escaped police custody after murdering the two Marshalls that had been accompanying him to the high security correctional facility just outside of Kingston.

It made Cass sick to her bones to think that a man like that had been unleashed on the unsuspecting populous. But a twisted excitement rose in her gut at the thought of catching him. She could already imagine how she would tie him down first, then peel away each layer of his skin one at a time starting from his nose, her blade would flicker with blood and every time he let out a piercing shriek of agony it would echo around her in a way that gave her the most delightful thrill.

The bartender caught sight of her as she made her way towards him.

"Hey Cassie baby! You look like you're having nice thoughts"

_Oh he had no idea_.

Peppy, the owner of Macdonald's Head Pub down on Water Street, had been tending bar since before the Universal United Nations or UNN had done its job and turned Earth into an almost strictly intergalactic merchant planet almost 25 years prior.

Species from across the universe flocked to earth to trade, bargain, drink and fuck. Early on in the development process most countries had closed their borders denying access to any non-earthling but, as is often the case, money spoke louder than their fanatical prejudices. Universal currency was introduced and with a large market Earth's economies were more stable than they had ever been. Canada and Britain especially, turns out the ratio of planets with cold humid climates to dry and hot was 10:1. The majority of species that visited Earth's surface preferred to avoid the U.S and anywhere South of the Equator. Not that those countries weren't benefitting from the amount of "tourists" that they did receive.

On the economic surface the planet seemed to be thriving. But the corruption and crime that had followed was nothing anyone could have anticipated. The middle years had been the worst. Cass had just been a young teen back then but she, and many others, had been drafted into the Defender's Alliance at the tender age of 13 because they had been so desperate for new cadets. Her parents had been displeased with the alliance, to say the least, but as it was their employer and times were tough they wisely bit their tongues. Cass thanked them for that every day. She never would've survived an orphan. No one ever did anymore.

Over the years universal law had come into effect and as the justice system had made punishment more brutal and unforgiving so did the crime rate drop. And it was then that Cass had left the Alliance. Her parents had retired into more comfortable lodgings and she had started work as a hunter. She'd made a name for herself across North America. She was even known on the universal hunter's list though she was careful to remain as inconspicuous as possible. The list encompassed the best Hunter's from across over 7 known galaxies; 874 documented species and 56 000 hunters approximately. Inconspicuous was an easy thing.

"What can I do for you tyke?" Cass smiled slightly at the familiar nickname. She'd known Peppy since she'd been the smallest Defender trainee almost 15 years prior. Coming to his bar to unwind after a hard day of training a.k.a having her ass handed to her by her instructors was a comfort she sought as often as sleep deprivation allowed. She had been happy to notice back then that she wasn't the only trainee in need of some R and R at the end of the day.

"I'm looking for info on my next snatch, mind if I take a look at the Ark?" The building in which Peppy had set up shop had once been the first Parliament building in Canada. But after the U.N.N announced the dawning of a new age most people lost interest in so-called ancient history. Peppy had bought the old place at a steal and they'd even let him keep the old Ark information system set up in the basement. It basically worked like a huge brain constantly processing data and storing it in organized files. But everything was completely cerebral. Although the Ark was an outdated model the U.N.N had forgotten to cut it off from the Universal server allowing new information to sweep through it constantly. Which Cass, and the few others who knew of its existence, took full advantage of. Very useful for someone like Cass who couldn't exactly walk into a Defender station; she was a dropout after all. No true Alliance huffy liked a dropout.

"Sure thing, sweet thang" Peppy grinned like a cat and nodded his head toward the "Out of Service" area of the bar. His shaggy gray hair danced to the movement of his head. Cass smiled back and waved as she walked off.

The parliament building really was huge even for an old place. She'd been more astounded to find the giant white columns were still intact after all the years they had stood. The building itself had to be four or five hundred years old. Inside the bar area Peppy had barely needed to redecorate the place was so dark and gloomy any of his more light-sensitive, which was the majority of them, customers would adore it. She'd walked the place a dozen times on her way to the Ark but she still found it as astounding as ever. The carved mahogany banister leading to the upstairs section that Peppy called home along with the solid oak paneling that lined the walls. He hadn't changed much except getting rid of the old rotting furniture. Cass came to the open area that had once been the front entrance but Peppy had long ago sealed off. He had opted for a less conspicuous side entrance. She stopped to salute the marble bust of the first Prime Minister of Canada, it had been the inspiration for the bar's name back when Peppy had first bought the place. After she had paid her respects she stalked off for the basement intent on getting her data and hunting the son of a bitch she was after.

Cass rubbed her neck as she reached the bar. She hadn't paid attention to the time and had no idea how long she'd been in the Ark. Probably a matter of hours. Though the background check she'd done on Carson had yielded a good lead on his last known address and an emergency contact he'd mentioned on his military application. Go figure the guy had been a soldier. This would make things all the more interesting for Cass she did so love a challenge.

She sent an e-note to Joe Giovelli, her contact at the A.D.A's office, and headed into the dimly lit bar.

"Thanks Pep" she patted the man on the back as she passed him. "Hey tyke, I thought you'd already left you'd been down there for so long" Cass just shrugged. "Went a little deep this time" Peppy nodded understanding completely. "The ark has a way of messing with your mind girl. It fucks with time when your under, makes your dreams realities and your realities nightmares. Best to stay away from it for a while, ya dig?" Cass nodded like a good little girl and bit back a smile at Peppy's paranoid imagery. Why a man who was so suspicious of technology had built his home and work on top of a giant computer was beyond her. The ark was a cerebral device, in essence a computer that processed stored and relinquished information. It wasn't intentionally evil in any way. Peppy was just a crazy cookie, whom Cass loved dearly, and that weird tingling in her spine and the shaking in her hands was anticipation of the kill. That's all.

Cass shook off the feeling and instead focused her attention on the bar. She studied every face in a glance and found herself shivering harder as she noticed the packed table at the back of the bar. "What are they doing here?" she whispered softly to Peppy. "Yautja never come this far North" _Unless the game was just too good to resist._

Peppy glanced quickly at the table in the darkest corner of the bar where at least 8 large yautja were sitting clicking and growling quietly in there strange language. He averted his eyes and shrugged, playing nonchalant when he was obviously terrified, as he should be "I don't ask they don't tell" he said as he finished topping off a pint for a lonely skarsgardian sitting nearby. The small furry creature wiped one of its big paws under its weepy red eyes and frowned down into the golden liquid. Cass rolled her eyes and decided to jet off before the depressed alien got so drunk it made a furless human look good enough to screw. She headed for the door she'd come in through; the one closest to her bike. It occurred to her later as she was lying on her back on a mahogany table with the wind knocked out of her lungs and a heavy Yautja hand wrapped around her throat that carrying weapons like hers so close to a violent species that had x-ray vision was unwise.

And just that fast, before she passed the table, one of them grabbed her. Her back hit the hard surface, and a heavy hand wrapped around her throat. The Yautja snarled down into her face its large mandibles flaring and its yellow eyes turning a darker, redder shade. "Easy now fella" she heard Peppy's soothing voice in the background even over the sound of blood rushing by her ears.

Cass didn't need his help though. The alien had thrown her back then lunged over her quickly while her feet up in the air allowing her to brace her feet on its massive shoulders, keeping the giant alien from crushing her into the surface. She thanked 15 years fighting off drug dealers, killers and creatures twice her size and times stronger for her honed reflexes. As the heavy hand tightened around her throat and the snarls issuing from the aggressor's chest vibrated through the soles of her feet she used her toe to press the catch in her boot and angled her foot toward it's throat. She watched his expression as he felt the sharp point of the extended blade bite into the skin of his jaw. She was glad the knife was long enough to reach from his shoulder to his chin because his neck seemed much longer and thicker than that of any creature she had ever come into contact with. Save maybe a treksaur, but the giant dinosaur-like alien had been long dead when she'd come upon it.

Cass felt sickening delight quicken her heart rate at the thought of kicking her foot up till the blade rammed through his flesh and lodged into his brain. Even if he snapped her neck in the throes of death it would still be satisfying.

She cursed inwardly as once again her bloodlust overrode her common sense. She had to get out of the situation as peacefully as possible. Nobody else could catch Carson as quickly and with as few victims as she could. "Let me go nice and easy and I'll back off as well." When he snarled at her again she feigned indifference and managed a small shrug despite the situation. "Either that or we can both die here, it's entirely up to you" she made sure to underline that last word by pressing the blade tighter against his thick skin. A small droplet of green, barely noticeable, glistened on the tip of the blade. She felt a claw rake the back of her neck and could feel hot blood gathering on the nape of her jacket.

As the copper-tinged smell invaded her senses she felt the bloodlust rise inside of her again. She was staring directly into the Yautja's eyes and saw the same strong passion reflected there. As a new hunter she'd respected, almost admired, the Yautjas code of honor. She heard talk of it from the more seasoned hunters she'd come into contact with. They rarely invited or allowed others to join them on their hunts, one had to be of great skill to even be considered, but those that had gone and survived told tales of a race so brutally accurate in their killing it could be described as beautiful. Those stories had always made her desire. Desire the hunt and the kill. That twisted part of her, the part that had surfaced from the depths of her shattered mind after Tony…Well. That part of her, the ruthless, merciless hunter wanted nothing more than to join them. To hunt with them. Live with them. When the need had arisen she'd touched herself while imagining the long shaft of a strong Yautja pounding her into satisfied oblivion. All of that resurfaced as she stared death in the face.

Cass couldn't help but become acutely aware of how open her legs were beneath him. Her feet were pressed against his shoulders while he leaned his weight on her, forcing her legs to part wide and bend at the knee. If it weren't for the obvious violence of his grip on her neck and outsider might think they were about to fuck. There was very little space between their bodies, only a hairsbreadth and their clothes were separating them.

To her surprise and embarrassment his tongue flicked out from his mouth as though he tasted the air and his snarl morphed into a clicking growl. His eyes flicked down to her and he made a questioning snuffling sound. _Could he smell her heat?_ She cursed herself and pressed the knife more deeply into his flesh distracting him. "Get off or die" she snarled, baring her teeth at him and letting out a low growl she'd been using to her advantage for years. His eyes had gone from blood-orange to a molten gold in seconds and he growled slightly at her flicking his mandibles and biting the air with his deadly sharp teeth but the action seemed more playful than sinister. Cass snarled at him, a universal sound for _I-will-fucking-murder-you_, and pressed the knife even deeper. Green liquid slowly dripped down the edge of the blade and a droplet landed on her cheek.

She gasped in surprise at how hot the liquid was when it touched her bare skin. In an instant he released her and Cass felt a twinge of disappointment and a flash of relief all at the same time. She held her foot back careful to not get his throat caught on it. When he had backed off a few feet she slid off the table with as much slow dignity as she could manage.

"See you Pep" she called, never taking her eyes off the Yautja. The bartender called something but it was drowned out by the strangest noise Cass had ever heard. A subsonic hum released from the Yautja's throat, so deep and intense it felt like the entire bar shook with the force of it. She stood frozen in shock as it vibrated through her shaking her down from the inside out. She knew she was breathing hard now, chest expanding and contracting quickly but it wasn't panic she was feeling. As absurd as it sounded she could feel that noise like it was _inside her_. A burning blush suffused her cheeks and she snarled at him again, feeling trapped. The way he looked at her was confining, she felt hemmed in on all sides and yet her focus was only on him like they were completely alone in the universe except for each other. She snarled at him, suddenly defensive and not knowing why. Her hind brain took over and backed her towards the door even as her ego was asking the question _What the fuck was that?_

She focused on getting outside, driving away. Two instructions she followed to the letter. She backed away from the table of 8 Yautja males who were all staring her down curiously. Except for the one, that one, he was looking at her with the most blood curdling, toe curling look she had ever gotten from anyone.

And it made her so hot she bolted for the door before she jumped him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes:** So this is the second chapter. Obviously. Hope you guys are enjoying the story so far. I'm planning on doing some world-building in chapter 3 and Cass' history will be explored in later chapters (there's a tiny bit of implied in chapter 1 but I have a whole flashback chapter planned out so that's just to wet your appetites) As usual, I love the reviews and comments and thank you so much if you've favorited this already! If you guys have any questions post them and I'll try to get back to you.

Hope you enjoy, will post again soon.

**Chapter 2**

Joe was waiting for her when she arrived at the courthouse the next morning. He'd sent her an urgent and very vague e-note the night before telling her to meet him in his office before he left for the courthouse but she hadn't checked her messages till the morning. She rushed to the courthouse to catch him before his latest trial came through.

"You're late" he was waiting for her at the front door, in as bad a mood as ever. "Its not like I work for you Joe, you can't expect my life to revolve around your schedule" she stuffed her hands in her pockets and fell into step with him as he headed for the courtroom. "I assume you took the Carson case" Cass wasn't sure if he was asking her or just stating the obvious. "Well, yeah. I mean its right up my alley isn't it? You know I can't stand fucking rapists" She spat on the ground as the words left a putrid taste in her mouth, earning her a scathing look from a nearby custodian. She mouthed an apology and flipped him a coin she'd pick-pocketed from some hotshot she'd past on her way in. The custodian nodded and mopped up her spit. Money is a universal language her father always used to say.

Joe just rolled his eyes and walked on engrossed in the papers in his hand. "So what was the emergency?" When Joe contacted her it was usually pretty important, as a retired defender and member of the A.D.A's personal legal team he was pretty high up the food chain, definitely higher up than scum like Cass. Their castes didn't mingle often in public, to say the least.

Joe was hot in an Italian kind of way; darkly tanned skin, flawless cheek bones and a square jaw gave him a face any upperclass hussy would drool over. And beneath his expensive dark suit he was as well-muscled and defined as any 20 year old defender though he was nearing his 40's and his wife was the only woman, scratch that, person he took an interest in.

"No emergency, just checking facts" He turned on her sharply. His voice dropped down to an angry hush. "Is it true you were involved in a brawl with a blooded Yautja male last night?" Cass groaned inwardly, the entire Hunter circuit had probably heard about their tiff from her runny-eyed furry friend.

"It was hardly a brawl, just a misunderstanding" she shrugged it off like it was no big thing.

If anything Joe's face darkened even more. "Are you aware that they are moving to form a treaty with the Alliance?" he practically hissed at her. "A dropout getting into a _misunderstanding_ with one of their most respected and feared warriors is not going to make them inclined to have dealings with us. Is it?" he ground out the last two words just inches from her face.

Cass felt understanding as well as rage filter through her psyche. "So you called me here to scold me? Is that it?" she snarled up at him. "Don't you dare, for a second, think that you have any right to call me on my dealings or to order me around like one of your fucking henchmen" She spat out the last two words angrily.

"This union would open up doors into technological advances we've only dreamed of up to this point. We would have access to information on species and planets we've never even heard of. The entire planet would benefit from this alliance and for some god forsaken reason the Yautja send their top negotiators to Kingston, of all places, to hammer it out. This is crucial to the furtherance of the Alliance's agenda and you should know better than to get in the way of that" Joe was becoming increasingly more frustrated as he spoke. Cass only crossed her arms and scoffed. "It was a bar brawl  
>Joe it's not going to end a decades-long treaty negotiation and don't pull me into your bureaucratic bullshit, you know I could care less" For the second time in two days Cass was taken off guard, when Joe grabbed her by the collar and pushed her into the wall with enough force to knock her head back against the wall. " . .YOU!" he yelled, she had never seen him this angry before, his cheeks were red and his eyes were blazing. Cass felt a familiar swell of aggression well up in her chest to meet his. "You cannot get in the way of this, we've worked too hard to see this through and I'll not have street scum fucking it up!" Her hands came up to shove at his shoulders (or rip his head from his neck, she wasn't entirely sure) but the next thing either of them knew there was a click followed by a roar and Joe was flung into the opposite wall.<p>

Cass stared in shock along with every other person in the hallway as Joe's body crumpled to the floor.

She turned to look at the large male standing at her side that had literally ripped Joe away from her and _flung him at the wall_. With one hand.

Joe wasn't a small guy, and Cass had known the Yautja were strong but like…woah.

She stared up at him as he snarled and clicked angrily, his large fists clenching and unclenching. He took a menacing step towards Joe but Cass put her hand on his arm to stop him.

With lightning speed she found herself once again trapped against a hard surface with this particular male's hand wrapped around her throat. But unlike the night before she could feel how loose his grip was, how his hand barely grazed her skin and his claws danced against the back of her neck where he'd scratched her, but there was no pain. He wasn't threatening her, she realized.

She looked up at him, way up, and found he hadn't even taken his mask off. Most aliens kept their armor at a minimum when topside and not on an official hunt, just to keep the peace. But Cass supposed the Yautja's creed had never been about peace.

"What the hell is going on here?" Cass turned her head as much as she could and realized not only was half the courthouse standing around staring at the scene they made but so was the D.A Rachel Manson and two other predator males who were standing near the district attorney.

"Shit" Cass hissed under her breath. Manson must have heard her because the woman's steel blue eyes flicked to Cass and, damn, did she look pissed. Before any of the human's could speak though, Cass' savior/captor started clicking at the two males behind the D.A. Soon an intense discussion was flying over the heads of all the humans as the aliens growled, clicked and purred at each other. After a few minutes three heads nodded to each other in unison and one of the two males Cass didn't know leaned toward the D.A.

"Woman...belong…ugly motherfucker" three disjointed voices echoed from his mask, a woman's, a small child's and an accented male's each forming the strange sentence.

Cass' head whipped form the Yautja who had "spoken" to her captor. "No I don't" she snarled, anger getting the best of her survival instinct. Again.

He shook his head, big rubbery tendrils whipping back and forth, and then he leaned towards her and purred once more, just like at the bar. Except this time he was standing right next to her, touching her, and there was nowhere to run. The hum shot through her body again and she felt that strange thumping, pulsing sensation in her belly. Without thinking her eyes closed and her hands gripped his wrist, nails digging into the skin there. The hum grew louder as he drew closer to her, pushing his heat and the earthy-copper musk of him into her space. The feeling inside her grew and once again she felt overwhelmed, desperate to escape. It wasn't until her jaw started to ache that she realized she had sunk her teeth into his forearm and was digging into the flesh as hard as she could.

"Please let her go, I'm sure we can find a peaceful solution, there's no need to hurt the girl" The D.A was taking cautious steps towards them but stopped when the predator whipped his head toward her and snarled so ferociously a few of the onlookers wet themselves. Manson put her hands in the air in a show of peace.

"Not…Hurt" said the disjointed voices. The male who'd spoken earlier put his big paw on Manson's shoulder and drew her away from the couple. "Do…Not…Interfere…Human" Cass had to admit, even with her eyes shut, the different voices blended together was creepy as hell. She felt a rough palm drag across her cheek and into her hair. Gently the male pulled the short strands until she was forced to tilt her head back, but not once did she let go of the deathgrip she had on his other hand. A deep rumble reverberated from his chest into hers and she felt it like a punch to the gut, she gasped and he ripped his flesh from her mouth before she could snap her teeth into him again.

She opened her eyes and snarled at him. "Let me go" her tone brooked no argument but the male only cocked his head. She snarled at him again and this time, slowly, he released her. He didn't step back though so the only way to get away was for her to slide out from between his chest and the wall. She backed away from him slowly, vaguely remembering a side exit in the cafeteria she thought she could get to from where she was.

There was a hissing noise as the warrior removed his mask. His mandibles free of their confinement he flicked them at her and around as he clicked in his strange language. The male behind him made similar sounds and they all seemed focused on her. Cass' eyes flicked from them to the male in front of her down to where a green trail led from two shallow wounds on his hand and dripped onto the floor. She couldn't stop the grin that overcame her face, served the bastard right, she hoped it hurt. When she looked up again to catch his eye what she saw there had her bolting for the nearest exit.

Pride.

Cass made it out onto the street before she started hyperventilating.

What the actual fuck?

_This isn't good._ She put her hands on her knees and breathed steadily through her nose and mouth, trying to calm her nerves. Two meetings with hunters in two days was starting to look less like a coincidence and more like the universe was in fact trying to fuck with her.

When her breathing had slowed she stood up and ran her hands through the short strands of her hair. "Fuck!" she whispered harshly, to no one in particular. While she had always liked a challenge when hunting bounty this new hunter was starting to make her lose her head. She needed to get control back, get focused on the hunt and find Ronald Carson before he could hurt anymore innocents.

She nodded to herself. "Alright Cass, get a fucking grip" she assumed she looked like a crazy person, freaking out on the street and then talking to herself, but at least she felt a bit better. A little steadier.

Now that she was out in the open air and away from all those mind-fucking-Yautja-pheromones she could think clearly.

Find Carson's contact, find Carson, torture, collect bounty and then take a vacation. God knows after this fucked up hunt she'd deserve one.


End file.
